Phasing out the Polymer Naira Notes
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN is soon to introduce new N5, N10, N20 and N50 to replace the old polymer notes.
The director, Banking Supervisor of the apex bank, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins who disclosed this in Abuja attributed the scarcity to the truncation of CBN’s currency restructuring exercise. She explained that apart from flooding the economy with the new naira notes, the quality will be far much superior to that of the polymer notes. In view of this, the polymer national currency, the glossy currency notes launched on September 30, 2009 by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua are to be withdrawn from circulation.
Already, according to the CBN deputy governor, Tunde Lemo, the apex bank has stopped the printing of the smaller denominations of naira in polymer notes because they fade quickly. Lemo hinted that by the middle of the year, the CBN will start the production of the second generation of the lower denomination notes in paper not in polymer. He warned that it is criminal to abuse the naira and appealed to the police to step up its surveillance to reduce the incidence.
In flooding the economy with the new notes, CBN should, guided by its periodic survey of buying and selling, package only limited quantity of N5 notes to some Southern parts of the country where N5 has lost its purchasing power to become an unnecessary luggage to the possessor. In parts of the South-East, N5 notes are now restricted to church offerings where owners of the churches have become too exploitative as to fix six to seven occasions for offerings within the period of worship. Members react in self preservation and attend church services with only N5 notes to be able to discharge this vital scripturally-backed membership obligation. Otherwise, N5 notes serve no purpose these days in some parts of the country. Even the bowl of road side beggars resents being used as a repository. No beggar smiles back at a donor of N5 notes because of its depleted monetary value.
Goaded by the prevailing culture of pilfering, some housewives and market women safeguard their naira notes by squeezing them in their wrappers. Nevertheless, they should be cautioned to prolong the life span of naira notes in their possession.
Unfortunately, some business men and women convert the naira notes to calculators and deface them with blotted scribbled figures. Ritualists also contribute immensely to the naira crisis. They deface the notes by tearing off the edges for ritual purposes causing some categories of buyers and sellers not to accept notes purposely torn this way.
The banks are equally neck deep in the rejection or acceptance of the national currency. Rather than with-held badly mutilated, torn or frayed naira notes, the banks repackage them back into circulation. Imagine the agony of a worker on N10,000, a month discovering that N5,000 out of the whole amount is badly mutilated or torn and cannot be easily spent.
In its campaign to stem the abuse of the naira, the apex bank should minimally involve the police. Often the officers are the worst culprits. Some destroy or swallow naira notes they accepted by way of gratification to avoid detection and arrest. Engaging their services is equivalent to setting a thief to catch a thief.
IBC and Weather Forecast
Sir, I was lucky last week when I stumbled on weather forecast from a private radio station in Abia State. It was broadcast after the 6am news update. As the forecast covered the entire South-Eastern states, I was forced to drop my umbrella for the day because dry weather was predicted and it came to pass. It also helped me and others around to make maximum use of the day.
My plea is for the IBC to make room for daily weather forecasts in its programmes. This will reduce the incidence of carrying long umbrellas about like walking sticks with some forgotten in buses, keke or taxes. Imolites need to be guided this rainy season by weather forecasts more so now that 2013 has been designated as another year of heavy flooding in states like Imo.
This public service slot will enable Imolites to plan their days without the disruptive factors of a deluge and flooding.
Weather forecast relays in the electronic media is another indirect way of fighting flooding. Those in flood ravaging areas will be compelled to stay indoors to combat the floods on rainy days. By so doing, several household items could be salvaged besides rescuing livestock in the premises.
It is not enough to announce it once. The weather forecast for the day should come after news summaries or bulletins to sensitize Imolites and assist them to brace for the environmental hazard.
IBC management should rectify promoted correspondents’ reports which are never aired during news bulletin broadcasts. The oddity occurs three to five times in each bulletin. The anomaly which is peculiar to the Clearest Voice East of the Niger is nauseating. Please, management, check it!
Amaechi Kingsley
Mpama Egbu.
